“Don’t trout set,” are words nearly every saltwater angler has heard at one time or another. That’s because when it comes to hard mouthed species like bonefish it’s crucial to set the hook by stripping the fly as opposed to raising the rod in typical ‘trout’ fashion. Raising the rod does a great job at burying a small fly into a soft mouth on light tippet, but not so great at pinning a large hook into a hard mouth.

However, the strip set is not only useful in the salt, it can be extremely effective in freshwater too! In fact, when fishing for silver salmon we find we land far more fish by setting the hook with a long strip as opposed to raising the rod and here’s why:

Heavy Tackle. When fishing for silvers, we don’t use much in the way of ‘light tackle.’ 15 – 20 pound maxima and heavy wire salmon hooks are the norm, so we’re not too concerned about breaking off on the hook set. Therefore, we don’t need to turn the rod into a shock absorber by raising the rod until AFTER the hook is good and buried.

Hard Mouths. While silvers might not have as hard a mouth as bonefish or tarpon, their mouth is substantially harder than that of a trout (particularly large bucks like that shown above). Therefore, a good hard strip is best to seat the hook.

Anticipation. Silver fishing can be really visual, and because of that it can be really tough not to pull the fly right out of the fish’s mouth when you see it charge your fly. After all, it’s pretty exciting. By strip setting however, you have an instant cue for when to set the hook. Simply strip until you feel resistance, and continue that strip to set the hook. In other words, strip until the line is tight, then raise the rod to fight the fish.

They Keep Coming. Silvers can be really aggressive. Often to the point of continuing to chase a fly after missing it two or three times. Setting the hook by raising the rod instantly removes your fly from the water on a missed strike, whereas a strip set keeps the fly moving in the event that he misses it, but still continues to chase it. This might sound silly, but if you’ve fished for silvers, you know what we mean!

If you’re planning on chasing aggressive salmon species, such as silvers or chums, try setting the hook with a strip set. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Best of luck out there!

If you’re a regular to our humble little blog, you’re probably aware that every once in a while we like to remind our readers that when fishing for bonefish, it’s crucial to set the hook with a long strip set rather than raising the rod.

Why do we keep telling you this? Because its really, really important when it comes to landing bonefish! In case you’re not sure what we mean, here’s a quick primer..

As trout fisherman, we’re taught that when a fish takes the fly you set the hook with a quick raise of the rod. This works great for protecting light tippets and burying small hooks into the soft mouth of a trout. However, bonefish have much harder mouths and raising the rod simply does not apply enough force to bury the hook. Therefore, setting the hook with a long strip set, with the rod pointed directly at the fish is by far the best method for a solid hook up.

A solid hook up is not the only advantage of strip setting on bonefish however, it also keeps you in the game on a missed set as well. Because the set is essentially the same motion used when retrieving the fly (aka stripping the fly), it’s not uncommon for a fish to keep following the fly after several attempts of eating it. We’ve seen fish hooked after two, three, and even four missed hook sets! After all, a missed strip set mimics a fleeing shrimp pretty darn well.

On the other hand, a quick raise of the rod (trout set) often throws the fly completely out of the water. In other words, taking you out of the game completely.

Good line control is important when fishing for bonefish. Things can happen pretty fast once your fly hits the water, which is why we like to teach our guests to stay in contact with their fly line at all times, even when shooting line.

However, no one’s perfect! And whether you’re making a cast, stripping your fly, or clearing line while fighting a fish, sometimes the line can get away from you. Unfortunately, a lot of fish are lost (or never hooked in the first place) while fumbling around to gain control of the line.

Well, today we’re coming at you with a super simple tip, courtesy of Deneki family member, Tom Provost, on just what to do if you lose control of your line.. Reach for your stripping guide!

You know, the really big guide closest to the rod handle. It may sound simple, but the line has to come through the stripping guide before reaching your hand, so rather than fumble around to pick up the line where you left off, reach directly for the stripping guide and you’re back in the game in an instant.

On our Alaskan rivers, targeting big leopard rainbows with gaudy rodent imitations is not only visually appealing, but also very productive at certain times of the year. Takes can be ferocious and often unexpected.

However, one of the most common faults when mousing for trout is setting the hook too early. It’s important to allow the fish to take the fly under before attempting to set the hook, or you risk pulling the fly directly out of the fish’s mouth. ‘Waiting’ to set the hook is much easier said than done however, and we’d be lying if we said we haven’t missed our share of hook sets.

Recently, we tried new approach on setting the hook when mousing while fishing with our friend Tom Larimer…the strip set! Strip setting on trout? You bet! While the classic trout lift is great for hooking trout on delicate tippets, when mousing for trout in Alaska, we often use ‘tippet’ upwards of the 20 pound range for better turnover of the fly, so break offs are of little concern. Plus, the strip set allows for the angler to delay setting the hook long enough for the fish to take it under.

Most of the time we like to retrieve our mouse patterns by keeping our rod tip high and twitching the tip back and forth while taking up the slack with our line hand. When the trout takes the fly, the amount of time it takes to lower the rod tip towards the fish and strip set the fly is just about the right amount of time to set the hook. See the take, lower the rod tip, make a nice long strip set, and enjoy.

Strip set, strip set, strip set! We’ve set it before, but to consistently land bonefish, it is important to set the hook with a long stripping motion, with the rod pointed at the fish, as opposed to raising the rod in a ‘trout setting’ motion. We’d be lying if we said we didn’t let our trout instincts get the best of us from time to time, but the next time your fishing the flats remember – Strip set, strip set, strip set!

To help break the habit of the dreaded trout set, our buddy Tom Larimer offered up a tip he uses when stripping the fly for bonefish – Lock your elbow on your rod arm. As you strip the fly, extend your rod arm in front of you until it is out straight. With your arm in this position, it is extremely unnatural to lift your arm in a ‘trout set’ motion. Therefore once you feel the weight of the fish, you are instantly reminded to strip set.

Also, as an added bonus, locking extending your rod hand in front of you as you strip for much longer and smoother strips. This allows for greater control of your fly whether retrieving fast or slow!

We got a great piece of advice on hooking bonefish last week from Josie Sands, one of our guides at Andros South.

If you see a bonefish charge your fly and then stop, set the hook – even if you don’t feel a thing!

Why? Two reasons.

Especially right after your fly lands, there’s often more slack in your leader than you think. If you’ve got slack, you’re not going to feel the eat.

Bonefish can inhale and spit flies really quickly, so it’s easy to not be fast enough on the trigger if you’re waiting to feel the fly stop.

So once you make your shot, watch that fish closely. If the fish charges your fly and then you see him stop – anywhere in the neighborhood of where your fly might be – set that hook! He’s probably tipping down to eat, and you might be surprised at how often you wind up with a hooked bonefish on the end of your line.

Bonus: Since you’re using a strip set (right?), on the off chance that the fly isn’t in the fish’s mouth at the time, all you did was strip once more, so the fly’s still there in the zone – waiting to be munched!

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Deneki Outdoors operates fishing lodges in Alaska, The Bahamas, British Columbia, and Chile.

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